Today, I submitted invoices to the City of Dallas for the $40K in Parks and Recreation Department matching funds and the $50K Grant from the 2017 Bond Package. The City quotes a 45-day window for reimbursement, though the team has said they will work to push it through faster.
Once those funds are received and forwarded to Calvary Hill Cemetery, they will place the formal order for the stones that will resemble the rendering below. The prices are locked in at this point, so there should be no further price increases that will hinder our progress for these markers.
Fresh Canvas of visible undamaged markers
In the meantime, I’ll be selecting the exact markers to be reproduced. Priority will be placed on those whose markers have been lost or are unable to be seen due to sinking/erosion.
I’ll be heading to the cemetery this weekend to see which ones are still intact so they can be excluded from the order to make our money stretch as far as possible.
Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR)
I’ll be seeking to have a GPR survey of Blocks 24 & 26 (the far-right corner as you approach the cemetery from the Gravel Drive), to create a full accounting of unidentified graves. Every marker in this sparsely occupied section of the cemetery will need to be replaced so that they will not hide under leaves and debris.
We already know of 3 people whose permanent markers were never installed, because we found the remnants of their temporary markers buried in the soil during our original survey. We just don’t know how many more there might be.
Once located, we will be contacting the Texas Historical Commission to inform them of the unmarked graves, as is required by State Law.
Producing/Shipping of the Markers
The markers will be created in China. This was not my wish, but it turns out that the rest of the world doesn’t have adequate manufacturing facilities to mass produce the needed quantities. They will be cut polished and inscribed, before being shipped. The transit time is approximately 18-27 days. Then they will go through customs and be shipped by Common Carrier where they will finally be dropped just inside the cemetery entrance (which is fortunately free of burials).
Goods shipped from Xiamen, China to Dallas, TX via boat and truck will travel approximately 8,389 miles in total:
By sea: ~11,200 km (≈ 6,963 miles) from Xiamen to Los Angeles
By truck: ~2,300 km (≈ 1,426 miles) from Los Angeles to Dallas
The Fun Part Begins!
Once onsite, we hope to have a forklift distribute the pallets along the central driveway near the Blocks where they will finally be placed. At this time, we can bring volunteers in who will work with Forest Lawn Cemetery to prepare and place them in their new permanent home. Each stone will be photographed with GPS coordinates and uploaded to Findagrave.com so that the world can continue to speak their names. For you are not truly dead until the last person utters your name.